1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mobile accommodation arrangement, and more particularly but not exclusively, to a mobile accommodation arrangement in the form of a bunkhouse trailer.
2. Description of Related Art
Many businesses, such as traveling amusement parks, event companies and agricultural concerns, require temporary housing for staff and crew. It is important for the accommodation to be of a temporary nature because these businesses entail a substantial degree of relocation, and it would not make sense to provide for permanent accommodation.
A popular solution is to make use of trailer based accommodation, also referred to in the marketplace as bunkhouse trailers. These trailers essentially comprise a trailer with customized living quarters provided on the trailer chassis. The living quarters can be anything from rudimentary to very luxurious, depending on the intended purpose thereof. However, in the businesses referred to above the intention is to accommodate a large number of staff in a single bunkhouse trailer. In some cases the living quarters comprise a limited number of living units, with each living unit having more than one occupant. In more progressive environments, the intention is to have a plurality of single unit living quarters, which reduces the maximum number of occupants of a bunkhouse trailer.
There are many motivations for minimizing the number of bunkhouse trailers required to accommodate a fixed number of staff. A major concern is the operational expense associated with transporting the trailers. This includes truck rental, driver wages, fuel costs and licensing costs, to name but a few. The allotted space in parking lots are also limited, and it is at times difficult and expensive to accommodate a large fleet of bunkhouse trailers.
In the past there have been attempts at reducing the cost of bunkhouse trailers, for example by using cheaper materials, but this does not address the key issue of reducing the operational expenses, and simplifying logistics. In addition, there is only that much that can be done to reduce the cost of the trailers without relinquishing on minimum acceptable living conditions.
There have previously been attempts to reduce the required number of trailers by increasing the capacity of the bunkhouse trailers. However, reasonable living quarters must always remain an important consideration. In one example, it has been proposed to develop a vertically expandable bunkhouse trailer which has an upper level and a lower level. Due to the constraints in terms of allowable heights of vehicles travelling on public roads, the double storied trailers cannot remain in a double storey configuration permanently, and therefore has to be collapsible. This is not a problem in itself, and can readily be achieved by having an outer rectangular shell that is configured to nest onto, and is displaceable relative to, a mating lower compartment. The lower compartment can essentially constitute any living unit configuration that is already known in the art, because the upper and outer shell merely encapsulate the lower compartment when the trailer is converted to a stowage position. However, the upper living units will obviously have to be collapsible, which results in complications insofar as proper partitioning is concerned.
Trailers having vertically expandable living units are not common, and in the ones that are available the upper living space is in the form of an open plan living area. The obvious way to convert the upper living space into separate room would be to use temporary partitioning, which will have to be removable in order for the upper shell to be collapsible. This arrangement will however result in a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the quality of the partitioning is low due to the temporary nature thereof. Secondly, the installation and removal of the partitioning is a time consuming process, because they have to be installed separately after the upper shell have been expanded relative to the lower living units. Finally, there is always a risk of some of the partitioning members being forgotten or inadvertently left inside the upper living unit when the upper shell is collapsed onto the lower living units, thus resulting in substantial potential damage to the partitioning members, the upper shell and the shell displacement mechanism.
The shortcomings associated with existing upper level partitioning is significant, and double storey bunkhouse trailers have not been introduced into the market on a significant scale for this very reason. There are applications where the vertically expandable trailer concept is used in the recreational market, for example in high-end RV's and private trailer accommodation, but in these cases the upper volume is in the form of an open plan living area, and the problems associated with partitioning do not arise.
Another shortcoming of existing bunkhouse trailers is that they are not of a modular construction. Generally, all the living quarters are in the form of a single sub-divided shell, and if maintenance has to be done on one or two of the living units the entire bunkhouse trailer has to be taken out of commission. It also leaves no room for customization, for example where there is the need to convert two adjacent living units into one room of larger surface area.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a mobile accommodation arrangement that will, at least partially, alleviate the above disadvantages.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a mobile accommodation arrangement which will be a useful alternative to existing mobile accommodation arrangements.